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Tiny Tears Doll Saucy Walker Doll Sweet Rosemary
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“THE ANGEL’S MAGIC”
by
Darna L. Michie
It was 1957 and I was a student at Bryant Elementary School in Spokane, Washington. I like the other students was anticipating Christmas vacation. Earlier that day, there’d been a program and an open house. It had been a lot of fun marching from room to room looking at the projects made by the other classes. The sixth graders made clay ashtrays. The fourth grade had made collages of the Manger in Bethlehem. The second grade, my class had made finger-painted wrapping paper. The first grade had made their handprints in plaster of Paris. The third grade had made little houses out of milk cartons and graham crackers. All of the classes had made yards and yards of red and green paper chain to decorate their classrooms. It was very festive and it only whetted my desire for Christmas to hurry up!
When class was dismissed, I carefully descended the steps of the school as there was a glaze of ice forming on them. I looked up and noticed the sky was dark gray…much to my surprise, there was my daddy standing at the bottom of the steps. I had my piece of the red and green paper chain draped around my shoulders like a shawl and I carried my pretty wrapping paper which was a gift for mama. Daddy took hold of my hand.
“I think I can smell snow!” said Daddy.
I inhaled…then I inhaled deeper…
“What does snow smell like?” I asked.
“I can’t tell you what it smells like,” said Daddy, “the next time it snows, breathe in deeply through your nose. Then you’ll make a snow smell memory.”
“Okay Daddy, I’ll do it! I love it when it snows!” I said wistfully.
“I like snow too,” said Daddy.
“If it snows can we build a snowman: Teacher says that it takes special snow to build a snowman. Did you know that?” I asked.
“If we get special snow, I’ll help you build a snowman,” said Daddy.
“Our class made finger painted wrapping paper…mine turned out just beautiful and I’m going to give it to mama for a Christmas present.”
“Un huh,” said Daddy.
“The Christmas party was a lot of fun; I had two cups of punch and the sugar cookies were cut into shapes like stars, hearts and bells; I saved two of my cookies for Jeff and Tom. The program was acted out by the fifth and sixth graders…they did the play “A Christmas Carol”. It was sort of scary, but I liked it and it had a happy ending because Tiny Tim didn’t die and I was afraid he was going to.”
“It sounds as if you had a nice party,” said Daddy.
“After the play, all the classes got on stage and sang a song…my class learned all the verses to ‘Jingle Bells’…do you know all the verses?”
“I knew them when I was a kid, but I only remember the chorus now.”
It seemed funny to think of Daddy as being a kid…
“I’ll sing the verses and you can sing the chorus with me…okay?”
‘Dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh’
O’er the fields we go…
Daddy walked along holding my hand and sang with me until we crossed the busy intersection, then he said that I was to go straight home because mama would worry about me. He reminded me about looking both ways before crossing the streets and then he kissed my cheek and told me that he’d see me later.
“Okay,” I told him…”I love you”
“I love you too,” said Daddy
Just then a tiny snowflake drifted down…”Look Daddy, it’s starting to snow.” I breathed in deep through my nose just like Daddy had told me to. I thought I could smell snow, but I wasn’t exactly sure.
Daddy was going job hunting again…I’d overheard him and mama talking about it this morning before I went to school…although she’d done her best to convince him that it was a waste of time to look for work on Christmas Eve, he'd insisted that he couldn’t take a chance of missing out on a job because he didn’t look.
I couldn’t help myself as I stopped and admired the decorated trees standing in the windows of the houses. They were topped with stars and they shimmered with tinsel. There was one tree that I especially liked; it was wrapped in angel hair and silver snowflakes hung from the branches. The lights of the tree were always plugged in and I thought it was soooo neat that every light on the tree was blue. The most beautiful decoration on the tree was the topper; an angel stood over the tree, unsleeping, as if she were guarding it. As I stood gazing at her, it was almost as if she whispered to me “Don’t Worry!”
The snow was coming down really heavy now and for awhile I walked backwards so I could look at my footprints…mine were the only ones on the sidewalk. I slowly walked up the sidewalk to my house with my tongue out so the little snowflakes would land on it and melt. When I reached the porch, I laid my paper chain and Mama’s present down on it and ran to the middle of the yard and laid down on my back…I spread my arms and legs apart and began swishing them back and forth…when I was sure it was perfect I carefully stood up and admired the snow angel that I’d just made. I turned toward the house and saw Mama standing in the window; she had my baby brother Tommy on her hip. I picked up my things off of the porch and opened the door.
“See my beautiful chain,” I chirped as I held it up for her to admire.
“Haven’t I told you to come straight home:”
“I’m sorry Mama, I was smelling snow,”
Mama shook her head at me. “I wish you’d get your head out of the clouds!” she then sighed.
“I thought Daddy was going to walk home with you!”
“He did…part way…”
Mama sighed again and put Tommy down and went into the kitchen.
*********************
I leaned against the big living room window and watched as the down-like flakes of snow drifted to the ground. My warm breath caused the window to fog over, so I wiped it with my sleeve. I took another deep breath and this time when the window fogged over I drew a happy face in the steamy fog. I’d wished for it to snow in time for Christmas and I loved it when my wishes came true. I watched as the snowflakes covered the tips of the grass and the branches of the trees. The little shrubs by the neighbor’s fence looked like a row of snow cones. It had snowed enough that I couldn’t tell where the sidewalk ended and the street started. The streetlight on the corner had a halo around it. The snow had turned my front yard into another world!
My little brother, Jeff, joined me at the window…he had a sad look on his face.
“I know a fun game…would you like me to teach it to you?” I asked.
“Okay,” said Jeff as he shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s called Tic Tac Toe…just breathe on the window and I’ll show you how to play.”
Jeff breathed on the window. I drew the tic tac toe box and showed Jeff how to make an X or an O in the box. We finished one game and then we started another until it wasn’t long until the window was a smear of boxes and water streamed down the glass, so I wiped the window with my sleeve to dry it.
“Would you like to draw pictures now…you can go first,” I offered.
Jeff drew a house and large, round headed stick people…I laughed and drew squiggly curls on one of the stick people.
“That’s me, which one is you?”
Just then the house across the street lit up with multi-colored strings of lights. I heard Jeff gasp…he’d stood at the window every night since Thanksgiving and watched the house light up, but each time, for Jeff it was as if it were the first time. They had a Santa sleigh and reindeer on the roof. I put my arm around Jeff’s shoulders and we stood together and watched as Rudolph’s red nose blinked on and off.
“It’s almost like standing at the edge of the North Pole,” I whispered in Jeff’s ear.
He nodded.
I had drifted far away, but I was brought back by the sound of mama’s voice.
“What Mama?” I asked.
“Please change Tommy’s diaper for me,” she repeated.
I patiently chased my baby brother around the living room…he giggled when I caught him. After I’d changed his diaper, he wrapped his little arms around my neck an pulled my face close to his so he could give me a wet, opened mouth kiss that sounded like the lid coming off of a pop bottle. He was so oblivious to the world that for a brief moment I wished I was a baby again. I picked him up and took him over to the window so he could see the lights across the street. He clapped his hands with joy and then he pointed and said “Pre pre” which I knew meant pretty.
Mama had begun pacing the floor and now and then she would come to the window and look out; it was as if looking would make Daddy get home sooner…this was the latest he’d ever been and Mama looked tired with worry. When she sat down I walked over to her and put my hand on her shoulder.
“Maybe Daddy found a job,” I consoled her.
“Maybe…,” said Mama.
Mama and Daddy had been arguing about money and I’d lost track of how many times I heard Mama say that “Christmas isn’t going to be much this year!”
I’d brought home my paper chain hoping to put it on the Christmas tree, and now it was Christmas Eve and there wasn’t a tree…maybe there wasn’t going to be one. Where would Santa leave the presents? I blinked back tears…just then Jeff let out a howl…
“Daddy’s home, Daddy’s home and he’s got a Christmas tree!”
We opened the door and ran down the sidewalk to greet him.
“Oh Daddy…it’s the most beautiful tree in the world!” I exclaimed.
“It isn’t very big, but it’ll look great all decorated…Mama get the decorations! Said Daddy.
Mama didn’t move…she didn’t say anything at all, she just stared at Daddy.
“Mama, we’re going to have Christmas after all,” I chimed in.
But Mama didn’t hear... “Did you find a job,” she asked.
“No, not yet, but…”
Mama interrupted Daddy…”You spent the last of our money on that tree?” She cried.
Daddy sighed and said…“What difference does it make if we’re broke today or broke tomorrow? “ Besides, it’s Christmas eve, so the tree was cheap.
“When you’re broke, nothing is cheap!” screeched Mama.
Daddy picked up the little tree and snapped it in two…”There! Now you don’t have to look at a cheap tree!”
“Oh, Daddy,” I cried. “It was such a beautiful tree!”
I felt my heart breaking and I looked at Jeff, his face was red because he was fighting back his tears. Tommy let out a bawl and he clung to me. Mama picked up the pieces of the little tree walked to the front door and threw them out into the yard. I picked up Tommy and Jeff and I rushed to the window and stared forlornly at the broken tree lying in the snow. The three of us stood huddled together with our faces pressed to the window…the lights across the street became a blurry smear of color through my tears…it was snowing hard now and the branches of our little Christmas tree were already white. Mama and Daddy’s arguing became a dull background noise and I thought about the beautiful angel atop her blue clouded Christmas tree…I closed my eyes and wished things could be different. It became very quiet. Mama came over to the window and wrapped her arms around all three of us.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered with a choke.
I looked over Mama’s shoulder and saw Daddy, The smile that he wore when he got home that night was gone…
“What about Daddy?” I asked.
Mama turned and ran into his arms….Jeff, Tommy and I joined in and hugged their legs as we shared in this moment of forgiveness.
“I’m so sorry I spent the money,” said Daddy,
“You were right and I was wrong.” Said Mama. “The children needed a tree and now I’ve spoiled it for everyone.
“Maybe not.” Said Daddy. You kids bring in the tree, maybe I can fix it. Mama, you get the decorations and I’ll see what I can find to put it back together again.”
Jeff and I each picked up a piece of the tree shook of the snow and brought it inside. Then Daddy nailed it; he wrapped the trunk with string and tape. I sang the only line I knew from a song about Christmas trees. Over and over I sang it as I watched Daddy mend the tree,
‘Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree…how lovely are your branches…
“It’ll hold for awhile,” said Daddy as he smiled again.
Mama came in with a box of decorations. She smiled too when she saw the little tree. She went back into the kitchen and popped some popcorn, we ate some and we put some on strings to hang from the branches. When Mama opened the box of ornaments, she told us stories that went with the special one. There was a little angel with a hand embroidered dress that was given to her by her Mother…my grandmother and a piece of silver garland that once decorated her grandmother’s tree. My Granddad had made an ornament at the senior citizen’s center and had given it to Daddy for Christmas when I was a baby. Last but not least, I carefully laid my paper chain across the branches. When the tree was all decorated, Tommy reached out to touch it, then he shook his head.
“No, no,” said Tommy…Pre pre!”
We sat together on the couch and stared at the tree. Daddy had his arm around Mama and she softly sang ‘Away in a Manger’…Tommy fell asleep in Mama’s lap. Jeff and I snuggled close to each other and gazed dreamily at the lights and decorations on the tree. “It’s the best tree, because it’s ours,” I whispered in Jeff’s ear. He yawned and nodded.
“If you two don’t got to bed soon, Santa will pass over our house,” said Mama.
“Santa!” exclaimed Jeff.
“Santa might come too?” I asked.
“I didn’t say he wouldn’t come…I warned you not to expect too much,” said Mama.
“I won’t Mama…I promise!” I took Jeff by the hand and pulled him to our room…I knew I wouldn’t sleep all night, but I did and when I woke up the early morning sunshine streamed through the window…it was very bright, so I climbed out of bed and went to the window to look out…the sunshine made the snow sparkle as if it was covered with diamonds.
I was suddenly filled with apprehension…what if Santa didn’t come? I must be brave I thought to myself…then I said the words aloud.
“I must be brave!”
I woke up Jeff and we went together to look under the tree. There were three presents…I ran to Mama and Daddy’s room and knocked on the door.
“Mama, Daddy,” I exclaimed. “Santa came!”
“We’ll be there in just a minute,” said Mama.
Daddy passed out the three presents under the tree…I felt a thrill go through me when he handed me my present. It was huge! I very slowly and carefully unwrapped the box. The outside of the box said “Sweet Rosemary”, I lifted the lid and there was the most beautiful doll that I’d ever seen in my life…I recognized her as we’d met once before at a grocery store in Clarksfork, Idaho...she had captured my attention, but I knew she must cost at least a million bucks and I never believed for a minute she could ever be mine.
I sat on the floor in awe and gazed at her; Rosemary had short, curly golden hair and her eyes were deep blue; they opened and closed and they were fringed with long black lashes. Her lips and fingernails were painted rose red. Her earrings and necklace were white pearls and a pearl ornament was in her hair. On her feet were a pair of tiny silver high heels and her dress and gloves were made of the most beautiful lace that I’d ever seen in my whole life.
I carefully lifted Rosemary out of the box and held her close. Rosemary was nearly as tall as me, I put my face against Rosemary and breathed in through my nose, she had the unmistakable perfume of a new doll. I danced around the room with my new doll in my arms and I remembered the angel atop her blue cloud and believed that she'd held the magic that made my dreams come true.
***I AM NOT A LICENSED APPRAISER...THEREFORE I CANNOT ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT VALUE
***PLEASE SEE MY RESOURCE LIST FOR BOOKS THAT WILL HELP YOU FIGURE THE VALUE OF YOUR DOLL OR ITEM
THANK YOU!
Copyright  2005 Darna Michie
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